Employer Assist

Banner Jones specialist employment law solicitors know that it’s hard for businesses to keep up to date with the constant changes in employment law.

That’s why we’re here for you when you need us most to advise on any employment law query and are delighted to be able to offer our Employer Assist package to you.

Employer Assist is a service designed to meet the needs of all employers, whether you have a dedicated HR function or not, giving you peace of mind and protection against the risk of an expensive employment tribunal claim.

Employer Assist is a cost effective solution for your employment law needs. For an affordable fixed annual fee Banners Jones specialist employment law solicitors and HR specialists can help you with all your employment law issues.

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Employer Assist team

Employer Assist helps you by providing you with:

Employment Law Health Check – to ensure that you are fully compliant with all relevant employment law, we will ensure that your contracts of employment, policies and Staff Handbook are up to date

Telephone helpline – for unlimited advice and assistance on any employment law of HR issue

Dedicated adviser – to give you the best advice for your business, we need to know how your business works. Giving you a dedicated advisor allows us to do this

Tailored Documents – we will provide you with template letters, contracts policies and forms and help you tailor them to ensure that they are right the situation and your business

Regular Updates – we will ensure that you are up to date in developments in employment law with regular updates by email. You will also be invited to our employment law seminars

Insurance – this can be added to cover the cost of employment tribunal claims and the costs, awards and settlements that these bring

With Employer Assist, you can relax, safe in the knowledge that you have an expert employment law adviser on hand to talk to and support you, and help with ensuring that whatever action you take, you are legally compliant and protected by insurance (if this option is taken).

Frequently Asked Questions

You need to be able to justify if you are asking for certain levels of experience. Advertising for a bus driver who is safe and has had previous experience is one thing advertising for a bus driver with 10 years’ experience is another. The first option leaves your job advert open for all ages to apply. The second rules out individuals who may be in their early twenties.

Other points to consider when recruiting new employees:

Ensure whoever is interviewing potential employee’s scores interviewees on their skills and competencies as opposed to their age.

Although they are not discriminatory themselves consider removing any reference to age on your job application forms.

Once you have selected an appropriate employee ensure managers and staff are trained to monitor and avoid any discriminatory behaviour. Also make sure it is clear within any policies you have that discrimination in any form is unacceptable. Ensure managers are fully trained in diversity issues and that they are able to deal with discriminatory issues that arise within the workplace.

Yes you need to be aware of these requirements if you employ anyone of any age. They affect every area of employment as well as the recruitment and selection process. The requirements not only make it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of age but also harassment whether it be intentional or unintentional or to victimise an individual.

You need to worry not only about your own actions but also your fellow employees who must be discouraged from making offensive or unkind comments about age or anything in between.

As with other areas of discrimination if your employee can demonstrate that there has been a difference in treatment which is due to discrimination it is solely down to you the employer to show otherwise or for you to prove that you have done everything in your power to stop such discrimination. There are no limits to discrimination awards and often they include an aspect for suffering, failure to do so can be expensive.

When you are recruiting employees you need to ensure you are not discriminating for or against anyone due to their age. This means you cannot advertise specific age requirements in any of your job adverts unless you can justify them.

If you interview someone in their sixties and they turn out to be as good or even better than your current employees in their twenties you should not let their age be a determining factor as to whether you hire them or not. Since October 2006 it has been unlawful to reject anyone for an interview based on their age. There is not a lot employers can do to control the age of their workforce therefore you would potentially have to recruit someone in their sixties even if you have a younger workforce.

In 2011 legislation new legislation was introduced making it unlawful to treat anyone differently due to their age except if it could be justified or falls within one of the exemptions to the law. The retirement age of 65 has now been phased out meaning employers can now only forcibly retire workers if it can be justified.

News

The recent case of two young lovers whose amorous emails to each other were mistakenly copied to the wider world emphasises all too clearly why firms need an “email, internet and social media use” policy for all members of staff.

Auto-enrolment in pensions has been in place since 2012, requiring employers to offer their employees a workplace pension and make contributions on their behalf, but it seems that a significant number of employers are still not managing to comply.

The National Living Wage (NLW) comes into force in April this year which will give workers aged 25 and over a fifty pence increase to £7.20 per hour. It is thought that this increase stems from the fact that one in five workers in the UK are classed as 'low paid', which is high when compared to other advanced economies.

In a recent judgement in the Court of Appeal, it was ruled that an employer was entitled to withhold one 260th of annual salary pay for each day of the strike from teachers who went on strike and not one 365th as argued by the teachers.

We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 493083) under the Solicitors' Code of Conduct. You can access the Code by contacting the SRA, In writing to: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN. Fax: 0121 616199. Tel: 0870 6062555 (UK) +44 0121 3296800 (International) or via www.sra.org.uk.

The directors of Banner Jones Ltd are Solicitors of England and Wales.